That summer an army of crickets(蟋蟀) started a war with my father. Dad didn’t care for insects much more than Mamma, but he could tolerate a few living in the basement. Mamma was a city girl and she said a cricket was just too noisy. Then to support her point she wouldn’t go to bed. She drank coffee and smoked my father’s cigarettes and paced between the sofa and the TV. Next morning she threatened to pack up and leave, so Dad drove to the store and hurried back. He sprayed poison from a jug. When he was finished he told us that was the end of it.

  For a couple of weeks we went back to find dead crickets in the laundry. He suggested that we’d all be better off to hide as many as we could from Mamma. I fed a few dozen to the cat who I didn’t like because he scratched for no reason.

  However, soon live crickets started showing up in the kitchen and bathroom. Mamma was upset because she thought they were the dead crickets coming back, but Dad said these were certainly new ones. He fetched his jug of poison and sprayed all over until the whole house smelled of poison, and then he sprayed the basement again.

  A couple of weeks later, when both live and dead crickets kept turning up, Dad emptied the basement of junk. Then he burned a lot of old newspapers and magazines which he said the crickets had turned into nests.

  While we ate supper that evening, the wind lifted some flames onto the wood pile. The only gasoline was in the lawn mower’s(割草机) fuel tank but that was enough to create an explosion big enough to reach the house. Once the roof caught, there wasn’t much anyone could do.

  After the fire trucks left, Mamma took the others to Aunt Gail’s. I helped Dad and Uncle Burt carry things out of the house and pile them by the road. We worked into the night and we didn’t talk much, while all around the noise of crickets broke our silence.

1.What do we know about the author’s mother?

A. She didn’t like insects at all.

 B. She liked insects more than his father.

 C. She cared for insects very much.

 D. She could only tolerate a few insects.

2.The author’s father drove to the store to buy _______.

A. cigarettes for himself                                                   B. some poison

C. more coffee for his wife                                              D. some gasoline

3.The author’s father burned the old newspapers and magazines because he thought ______.

A. they were no longer useful

B. the crickets were afraid of fires

C. they became the home of crickets

D. the dead crickets came back to life

4.We learn from the last paragraph that ________.

A. the author’s family lost their battle against the crickets

B. the author’s parents learned to put up with insects

C. the author’s family didn’t suffer much in the fire

D. the author’s parents got divorced

Some American parents might think their children need better education to compete with China and other countries’ children． But how much do the parents themselves need to change?
A new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua has caused a debate about cultural differences in parenting． Ms． Chua is a professor at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a mother of two daughters． She was raised in America by immigrant Chinese parents． In her book, Ms． Chua wrote about how she demanded excellence from her daughters． For example, she threatened to burn her daughter’s dolls unless she played a piece of music perfectly． She would scold her daughters if they failed to meet her expectations．
Ms． Chua had a clear list of what her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were not permitted to do: “Attend a sleepover, have a play date, watch TV or play computer games, be in a school play, get any grade less than an A．” Many people criticize Amy Chua, saying her parenting methods were cruel and violent． She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, sometimes objected to her parenting style． But she says that is the way her parents raised her and her three sisters．
Ms． Chua says she eased some of the pressure after her younger daughter rebelled and shouted “I hate my life! I hate you!” But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children’s abilities． Amy Chua thinks one of the biggest differences between Western and Chinese parents is that Chinese parents take on strength rather than fragility．”
Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting, says: “Parents should rethink, what does it mean to be a successful parent and what does it mean to be a successful child?” She says Amy Chua’s parenting style is not limited to Chinese families． It represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children． But she also sees a risk． When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life． Stacey DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised．
【小题1】Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is mainly about ___________．

Some American parents might think their children need better education to compete with China and other countries’ children． But how much do the parents themselves need to change?

A new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua has caused a debate about cultural differences in parenting． Ms． Chua is a professor at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a mother of two daughters． She was raised in America by immigrant Chinese parents． In her book, Ms． Chua wrote about how she demanded excellence from her daughters． For example, she threatened to burn her daughter’s dolls unless she played a piece of music perfectly． She would scold her daughters if they failed to meet her expectations．

Ms． Chua had a clear list of what her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were not permitted to do: “Attend a sleepover, have a play date, watch TV or play computer games, be in a school play, get any grade less than an A．” Many people criticize Amy Chua, saying her parenting methods were cruel and violent． She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, sometimes objected to her parenting style． But she says that is the way her parents raised her and her three sisters．

Ms． Chua says she eased some of the pressure after her younger daughter rebelled and shouted “I hate my life! I hate you!” But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children’s abilities． Amy Chua thinks one of the biggest differences between Western and Chinese parents is that Chinese parents take on strength rather than fragility．”

Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting, says: “Parents should rethink, what does it mean to be a successful parent and what does it mean to be a successful child?” She says Amy Chua’s parenting style is not limited to Chinese families． It represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children． But she also sees a risk． When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life． Stacey DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised．

1.Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is mainly about ___________．

    A． how to teach children to learn music

    B． how to change the ways of parenting

    C． Amy Chun’s experience in parenting

D．  Amy Chun’s reflection of her family life

2.The underlined word “rebelled” in Paragraph 4 probably means “____________”．

    A． disobeyed       B． succeeded       C． failed          D． panicked

3.According to Ms． Chua, Chinese way of parenting is powerful because ____________．

   A． parents set good examples to children

   B． parents understand their children better

   C． parents usually treat their children as friends

   D． parents have high expectations of their children

4.What is Stacy DeBroff’s warning to immigrant parents?

   A． Don’t expect too much from their children．

   B． Don’t allow them to communicate with others．

   C． Don’t give them freedom to do what they want to．

   D． Don’t bring up their children as their parents did．

Some American parents might think their children need better education to compete with China and other countries’ children． But how much do the parents themselves need to change?

A new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua has caused a debate about cultural differences in parenting． Ms． Chua is a professor at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a mother of two daughters． She was raised in America by immigrant Chinese parents． In her book, Ms． Chua wrote about how she demanded excellence from her daughters． For example, she threatened to burn her daughter’s dolls unless she played a piece of music perfectly． She would scold her daughters if they failed to meet her expectations．

Ms． Chua had a clear list of what her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were not permitted to do: “Attend a sleepover, have a play date, watch TV or play computer games, be in a school play, get any grade less than an A．” Many people criticize Amy Chua, saying her parenting methods were cruel and violent． She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, sometimes objected to her parenting style． But she says that is the way her parents raised her and her three sisters．

Ms． Chua says she eased some of the pressure after her younger daughter rebelled and shouted “I hate my life! I hate you!” But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children’s abilities． Amy Chua thinks one of the biggest differences between Western and Chinese parents is that Chinese parents take on strength rather than fragility．”

Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting, says: “Parents should rethink, what does it mean to be a successful parent and what does it mean to be a successful child?” She says Amy Chua’s parenting style is not limited to Chinese families． It represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children． But she also sees a risk． When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life． Stacey DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised．

1.Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is mainly about ___________．

    A． how to teach children to learn music

    B． how to change the ways of parenting

    C． Amy Chun’s experience in parenting

D．  Amy Chun’s reflection of her family life

2.The underlined word “rebelled” in Paragraph 4 probably means “____________”．

    A． disobeyed       B． succeeded       C． failed          D． panicked

3. According to Ms． Chua, Chinese way of parenting is powerful because ____________．

   A． parents set good examples to children

   B． parents understand their children better

   C． parents usually treat their children as friends

   D． parents have high expectations of their children

4.What is Stacy DeBroff’s warning to immigrant parents?

   A． Don’t expect too much from their children．

   B． Don’t allow them to communicate with others．

   C． Don’t give them freedom to do what they want to．

   D． Don’t bring up their children as their parents did．

Some American parents might think their children need better education to compete with China and other countries’ children． But how much do the parents themselves need to change?
A new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua has caused a debate about cultural differences in parenting． Ms． Chua is a professor at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a mother of two daughters． She was raised in America by immigrant Chinese parents． In her book, Ms． Chua wrote about how she demanded excellence from her daughters． For example, she threatened to burn her daughter’s dolls unless she played a piece of music perfectly． She would scold her daughters if they failed to meet her expectations．
Ms． Chua had a clear list of what her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were not permitted to do: “Attend a sleepover, have a play date, watch TV or play computer games, be in a school play, get any grade less than an A．” Many people criticize Amy Chua, saying her parenting methods were cruel and violent． She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, sometimes objected to her parenting style． But she says that is the way her parents raised her and her three sisters．
Ms． Chua says she eased some of the pressure after her younger daughter rebelled and shouted “I hate my life! I hate you!” But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children’s abilities． Amy Chua thinks one of the biggest differences between Western and Chinese parents is that Chinese parents take on strength rather than fragility．”
Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting, says: “Parents should rethink, what does it mean to be a successful parent and what does it mean to be a successful child?” She says Amy Chua’s parenting style is not limited to Chinese families． It represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children． But she also sees a risk． When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life． Stacey DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised．
【小题1】Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is mainly about ___________．